Plot

Comedy series about a tight-knit group of friends living in Manhattan. It also covers their interactions with their families, their lovers, and various colleagues over a period of several years.

The series opens with runaway bride Rachel Green, who has just abandoned her fiance Barry Farber at the altar. Having no place to stay in New York City, she manages to locate Monica Geller. Monica used to be Rachel's best friend during their high school year, though they have not seen each other in several years. Rachel convinces Monica to take her in as her new roommate. They rekindle their friendship.

Rachel used to be a "daddy's girl" who relied entirely on her wealthy father to cover her expenses. Having lost his favor, she gets her first real job as a waitress at the coffeehouse Central Perk. She has no actual skill at her job, but her manager Gunther has fallen for her and never fires her. In later seasons, Rachel is able to find a more lucrative job in a fashion company.

Monica is a hardworking chef, who owns her own apartment. She is good at her job, but has men-related problems in her personal life. She also has her share of psychological problems, including an obsession with cleanliness, unreasonable levels of competitiveness and frequent signs of obsessive-compulsive behavior. Additional issues explored in the series involve her traumatic memories of her childhood obesity, and her poor relationship with her mother, who always criticizes her.

The third member of the group is Ross Gellar, Monica's older brother. He is a paleontologist, who is trying to recover from the abrupt end of his first marriage. His wife Carol Willick came out as a lesbian, and moved in with her lover Susan Bunch. Ross and Carol have a son, Ben. Ross tries to be a good parent, but does not have full custody over him. Meanwhile, he pursues relationships with various women, and tries to advance his career.

In later seasons, Ross impulsively marries twice, leading to two more divorces. His string of failed marriages somewhat damages his self-esteem. As explored throughout the series, he was always his parents' favorite and he had an inflated ego.

The fourth member of the group is Chandler Bing, a lifelong friend of Ross. He works as a statistical analyst at a company. He resents his job, though it pays well and he is typically more affluent than his friends. He has a sarcastic sense of a humor. He is rather effeminate in behavior, though he is upset when people keep assuming that he is homosexual.

As explored in the series, Chandler is the son of celebrity parents. His father is drag queen performer Charles Bing, a fixture of Las Vegas show business. His mother is erotic novelist Nora Tyler Bing, highly successful in her field. He grew up exposed to their respective sex lives, and their eccentricities. He has had more than his share of traumatic experiences and personal insecurities, and typically uses humor as a self-defense mechanism.

The fifth member of the group is struggling actor Joey Tribbiani. He starts the series as Chandler's roommate and the two have a closer relationship to each other than anyone else. Joey experiences the unsteady nature of his profession, with relatively few high-profile roles and frequent periods of unemployment.

Joey is depicted as rather dim-witted, but gregarious and quite charming. He is a ladies' man, and typically picks up dates or has sex more frequently than anyone else in the group. He has relatively few serious relationships. In his relations to others, he demonstrates a protective streak. He can act as a surrogate brother to his friends.

The sixth member of the group is Phoebe Buffay, Monica's former roommate. She works as a masseuse and self-taught folk musician. Phoebe's mother committed suicide when Phoebe was 14-years-old. Phoebe has mostly fended for herself ever since, and reportedly committed a few crimes while living as a street kid. Grown-up Phoebe has instead become a pacifist, a vegetarian, and a tree hugger. She has picked up a few New Age ideas and superstitions, such as believing in spirits and reading in tea-leaves. To Ross' annoyance, Phoebe does not believe in the theory of evolution. Despite having little formal education, Phoebe is apparently fluent in French and Italian.

Subplots involving Phoebe involve her relations with surviving members of her family, such as the father who abandoned her, and a kid brother who relies on her for help. Phoebe also has an identical twin sister, Ursula, who seemingly hates Phoebe for unknown reasons.